Sri Lanka farmers say inaccurate data behind shortages, unnecessary imports

Sri Lanka’s National Farmers’ Union said that the Department of Agriculture is issuing misleading crop data that has harmed both farmers and consumers, the Daily Mirror reported, citing the union’s chairman Anuradha Tennakoon.

Tennakoon said inaccurate forecasts published by the Department’s Socio-Economic and Planning Center contributed to a rice shortage earlier this year and prompted unnecessary imports of onions and potatoes, resulting in losses for local growers.

He also criticised the Agriculture Department’s latest production cost report as “false,” and said foreign-funded programmes such as CROPIX, intended to guide farmers on vegetable cultivation, had failed to deliver any practical benefit.

With high market prices leaving vegetables unsold and going to waste, Tennakoon urged the government to rely instead on data from the Department of Census and Statistics and the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agricultural Research Institute.